The improper sale of a Brooklyn property resulted in a real estate investor being charged with grand larceny and falsifying business records for cheating his fellow shareholders by making a transaction without their consent.
According to the charges brought against him, Wing Fung Chau is one of three shareholders 37-19 Realty Inc., which owns a 25% interest in 6208 8th Avenue, a large parcel of land in Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. Another shareholder is the president of the corporation. The defendant and the president are entitled to 36% of the corporation’s income while the third shareholder is entitled to the balance.
In September 2021, Chau signed a memorandum of contract to sell 37-19 Realty’s ownership stake in the property to an interested buyer and filed the contract with the City Register. He then negotiated with a second buyer to sell 37-19 Realty’s interest in the property for approximately $7.2 million cash, with that buyer and his associates assuming various existing mortgage obligations. The buyer requested proof that the president of the corporation agreed to sell her interest and that the first interested buyer no longer had a contract to acquire 37-19 Realty’s interest in the property. The buyer also requested a letter from the corporation’s accountant regarding its tax filings.
At the closing in November 2021, Chau allegedly provided several forged documents: one with the president’s forged signature agreeing to the sale, one with the first interested buyer’s signature stating she was terminating her contract, and one with the forged signature of the accountant falsely claiming the corporation did not file taxes in 2019 and 2020. He then allegedly had the proceeds of the sale transferred to bank accounts that only he controlled, withdrawing almost all of it within eight months of the closing.
Chau was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court on two counts of first-degree grand larceny and three counts of first-degree falsifying business records. The defendant was ordered held on bail of $10,000 cash or $100,000 bond and to return to court on June 4.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez stated, “This defendant allegedly attempted to steal approximately $7 million using forged documents and false filings. As real estate values continue to rise dramatically in Brooklyn, I remain committed to protecting property owners across the borough from fraudsters who would steal their security and investment in the future.”
